Community Support//

Community Support

Couture Construction Corporation has see almost one billiondollars in construction work in the North Country in the last few years. The State Prison and the Federal Prison comprise most of that, and yet our North Country continues to languish...why is that? The answer is that 2% of those construction dollars was spent locally.Isaacson did not even provide the steel for the State Prison! A North Conway firm is providing all the site work. A Colebrook firm is pouring all of the concrete. However, a local paving contractor has gone bankrupt while thousands of tons of paving have been pledged to out of town paving companies.

The local Courthouse on Main Street was constructed by a non-local contractor using an out of area subcontractor for the site workand demolition. Meanwhile, those who live and work locally, who pay taxes locally, buy food, gas, insurance, cars and so much more locally, get to watch the daily stream of workers driving in and out every day. According to NH DRED, a dollar spent on a non-local contractor bounces 1 1/2 times before leaving. A local dollar bounces 7 times more before leaving.

The people being shorted are family, friends and customers. Couture Construction Corp., is one of the few construction companies that provide health care insurance. We provided that benefit at no cost to our employees until recently. Rising health care costs have obliged us to require minimal contribution by our employees for the cost of the health care. We maintain this benefit while competing with firms who do not provide any health insurance at all.

An explanation of the value of patients who have insurance coverageis unnecessary. Couture's ability to maintain current coverage is contingent upon finding work locally.

Couture Construction is not the only entity whose vitality is affected. Fully 85% of the work they sub-contract is awarded to local firms. All the materials used on a Couture project are purchased locally. You will never see a Lowe's or a Home Depot truck on a Couture job site. Couture regularly uses: Caron Lumber, White Mountain Lumber, Aubuchon Hardware, Sherwin Williams, Rockingham Electric, Ray's Electric, Vaillancourt Electric, Gosselin Plumbing, Paul Letarte Painting, Ron Lang Painting, Alan Kenison Floor Installer, Louis Memolo, Coy Roofing and many more on our projects.

Community involvementgoes beyond local materials and labor. Couture Construction Corp. is a significant contributorto the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce, the St. Kieran Center for the Arts, Androscoggin Valley Fish and Game, the Kiwanis Club and a host of other local institutions.

As you plan the various aspect of your project, remember the local benefits of supporting the local business community. Unfortunately, the intrinsic advantages are not always apparent to the many construction users.